After missing two seasons, Terrell Thomas agrees to one-year deal

Less than a year after signing a four-year deal with the Giants that could have been worth $28 million, Terrell Thomas has agreed to a new one-year contract with the team for substantially less money. The old contract, like his last three right anterior cruciate ligaments, has been torn up and replaced.

Thomas will attempt to return from a third career ACL surgery in 2013. He missed the last two seasons with back-to-back preseason injuries to the right knee and has not played in a regular-season game since the 2010 finale.

"It's been a long two years," he said Monday. "It's definitely been a test of my will."

Thomas was due a $6-million roster bonus this spring, a provision the Giants negotiated into last year's contract to protect themselves against injuries such as the one Thomas suffered in the first days of the 2012 training camp. They had no intention of paying that, but they wanted to keep him. Thus the new deal.

Thomas said his rehab is going well in Pensacola, Fla., and last week he began running on the ground without any pain or swelling.

As for the position he plays in 2013, that depends on how well his comeback goes. General manager Jerry Reese said in a radio interview shortly after the 2012 season that Thomas might have to consider a move to safety to stay in the league.

"Obviously, my physical play translates into being a safety," Thomas said.

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But Thomas said he spoke with Reese, Tom Coughlin and defensive coordinator Perry Fewell Monday and that they envision him as a cornerback who could move to safety if the situation warrants a switch.

"At this point, I don't care if they move me to kicker," Thomas said. "I just want to play football."

Diehl pleads guilty to DWI

Tackle David Diehl pleaded guilty Monday morning in Queens Criminal Court to charges of aggravated driving while intoxicated and impaired driving last June, according to a release from the Queens District Attorney's office.

The release said Diehl bounced his black BMW off several parked cars on an Astoria street after watching a Euro Cup soccer match at a bar. Prosecutors said his blood-alcohol level at the time was .182 and he could have faced up to a year in jail.

The release said the charges will be conditionally discharged if Diehl completes two drunken- driving programs, pays $1,200 in restitution fees to the owners of the cars he hit and stays out of trouble for the next 90 days. He will have to wear a SCRAM (Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitor) bracelet during that time and is not allowed to drive or apply for a driver's license for the next six months.